Costco shoppers want ‘American only’ hours

Shopping and waiting … and waiting .. at Costco. (Photo is from a Miami Costco, by Creative Commons Flickr user miamism).

If you’ve ever shopped at Costco on a weekend, you know it’s like an endurance sport with tough parking, packed crowds and competitive lines for those mini-sausage samples.

But Costco shoppers in Bellingham, Wash., have an additional challenge: Canadians. It seems that the store, 90 miles north of Seattle and near the border, attracts flocks of Canadians in search of cheaper American milk and gas.

And that’s making some locals grouchy.

A Facebook page has emerged to vent the grumpiness, called “Bellingham Costco needs a special time just for Americans.” With more than 4,200 likes so far, it features rants about crowds, parking and rude Canadians who buy up all the milk (by the double-gallon) and take forever in the gas line (with their extra gas cans). There’s at least one photo of a bad British Columbian parking job that committed the sin of hogging two spaces.

“Costco should make a special time during the day that is American members only,” wrote the page’s administrator, who described local Costco shoppers as “Founding customers.”

“They used to do it for Business members, why cant they do it for us.”

But not everyone is complaining about the “mob show” at the Bellingham Costco. One Facebook poster called the comments “discrimination” and wrote, “I say to Canadians boycott, and watch how fast your city begs for Canadians to return.”

Bellingham Mayor Kelli Linville also continued to welcome Canadians. “The unpleasant comments we’ve seen on social media regarding Canadians are offensive and inappropriate,” Linville said Monday.

The Facebook page creator wrote that the problem isn’t Canadians personally, but the need for a larger store. That may not happen any time soon. An executive with Issaquah, Wash.-based Costco told CBC News the company wants to expand, but there’s no room on the current property.

Also, don’t expect any special U.S.-only shopping hours. Costco said it’s planning to continue its policy of letting Costco members shop in any Costco they choose.